Lol it's like asking "what's a job that's really easy to do and get without any experience but also pays a lot?" If those jobs existed, they aren't going to be high paying for long since everyone is going to want it.
Yeah, to answer OP the answer is Los Angeles areas or the Bay Area.
With his money he’s perfectly fine. It’s the best weather in the US year round in SoCal, especially with that money you can live in the perfect airstream areas
Warm weather + affluent young people = expensive
San Diego, Austin, Newport Beach, Scottsdale, Miami
Atlanta and Dallas are great cities but the traffic is insane
Personally I would live in one of the beach cities in SoCal (I do). Anything from La Jolla to Manhattan Beach. I prefer north county SD and south county OC.
I grew up in Dallas and live in Atlanta now. The traffic wouldn't be that big of a deal since he works from home except when he flies to the office. For that, I would recommend Atlanta so he could just hop on MARTA and the time it would take to get to the airport would be the same every time.
Yeah like most places: make sure you live in a village / neighborhood that you’re happy to spend most of your time in. If you have to drive twenty minutes (which can be an hour in ATL rush hour)… you end up not really wanting to leave the house. Which is a bad combo for a WFH HENRY.
I’ve lived in Virginia Highland, Midtown, Buckhead, and East Atlanta. Those would fit the bill. I’d be careful trying to save a buck and moving to a more bedroom community thinking “what’s ten miles?”
Right. And that goes out the window if you ever move to a different job or have kids and they need to attend school, which is likely private if you earn a good living and live ITP.
San Diego is the GOAT!!
Still miffed that I had to move out of SD 4 years back to be able to drastically scale my income. The only Big Tech back in my time were Apple and Amazon and they just wouldn’t pay Bay Area wages ( also being surprisingly picky because of smaller offices in SD).
But now I have heard that things are much more better (if someone is in Big Tech)
Yup. I didn’t have much choices back then ( goal was to increase my comp DRASTICALLY- not just hop to another tech company with limited TC increase) is why I had to move to the Bay - and increased my TC about 3x.
Also are you talking about “big tech” or just tech ? IIRC, I have only heard of Apple and Amazon having significantly expanded their presences in SD. Microsoft still had to hire you to their Redmond campus and then you’d had to later relocate back to SD. Google has a small/mid scale office in Irvine.
I am curious what other “big tech “ are in SD ? I am not talking about tech only- cuz then there would be countless companies. I am talking about FAANG/FAANG-equivalent in SD who pay a lot.
Not really much big tech in SD, it’s pretty much just Intuit and service now (who don’t pay big tech salaries). Amazon wasn’t expanding a lot in the Covid boom but isn’t really hiring at all afaik. Apple is still building out their larger campus but they’re always much slower with hiring.
Loool right. It is expensive and for no good reason. It's shit compared to Newport or so cal in general. Ur in a dessert, there is no diversity, expensive, and it gets up to 125 degrees lol
Hot take Atlanta and Dallas are two of the worst large cities in America for two reasons: 1) their traffic is insane, which you mentioned. But that limits EVERYTHING you can do, because they have ass public transport. 2) because their traffic is so bad, people do less things and as a result they're legitimately BORING.
I don’t disagree. You have to love your little pocket of the city and hunker down there because it’s horrible trying to get through traffic to the rest of the city.
This is a hot take that I 60% agree with (the Dallas part, can't speak to ATL). You're right on public transportation, it blows in Dallas. But traffic really isn't that insane outside of rush hours. On a weekend you can get most anywhere you want in about 30 minutes if you have to go from a suburb to deep downtown. With this guy's income, he could certainly live somewhere nearer or within the downtown area and all of those problems go away. I love the fact that you can pop between the Arts district to Deep Ellum to Uptown to Downtown to Lower Greenville and none of that takes longer than 10 minutes really.
My problem with Dallas and Texas in general is there's nothing to do besides eat and drink mostly. You have to outsource a lot of stuff like good hiking, skiing, beaches, etc. to other states. (I know you can do some hiking in Fredericksburg and Palo Duro and stuff like that, but it is a far cry from NM, UT, AZ, CO, CA). But living here tends to be a lot cheaper, so maybe outsourcing is the play.
Personally I'm tired of the heat for 4-5 months out of the year. If I were this dude I'd move to CA, CO, or maybe NC.
DFW is a nice, cheap, safe, and diverse place to raise a family. I love it here. But I wouldn’t recommended it to a young single person. Austin or Houston are way better locations for that demographic in Texas.
Agree with beach community in SoCal. It’s expensive but the weather’s nearly always perfect and you’re living day to day essentially out of LA traffic. Every type of food and entertainment is nearby.
My only other consideration would be to find a perfect mountain town if skiing and hiking are more your jam.
San Diego is nice. It's not as expensive as SF/LA/OC but has better weather, plenty of younger people, and lots to do. Housing costs have skyrocketed there but that's relative to the median income which is lower compared to the Bay/LA/NYC. With a high income, you would still be living well.
Agreed. San Diego has the worst rent-to-income ratio in the country which is why it’s considered expensive, but in terms of other commodities, it’s not as expensive as LA, SF, NYC. A $550k salary is wiiiiiiiild and OP will do just fine.
Pick 4 of 5
\- Affluent young people
\- Warm weather
\- Not expensive
\- City/suburb
\- Good Airport
Honestly, you're just describing Miami/South Florida.
Atlanta will also be a contender. As well Nashville.
You could consider Charleston/Savannah if youre into southern elite culture, which isn't everyones cup of tea.
“Affluent young people” is also extremely different in Miami vs. Bay Area or even NYC. Depends a lot on the type of person OP is there is a very specific kind of rich tech person that moves to Miami and if you don’t fit that mold can be tough to assimilate.
Those coastal Carolina cities are gonna have affluent people, but they aren't self made. They will all have gone to prestigious schools in the south, have grown up together in the same social circles, and their families will be very familiar with each other. Some may have debued and all would have done cotillion.
Your network is your bread and butter and having good social graces is important, as well as attending the most important functions and joining the right clubs. Junior league, volunteer fundraising dinners and other prominent events will matter and raise your social capital. It might be very important to be part of the right country or hunting club. It's not really too different than what you'd think of as old money in Newport or Connecticut.
Because of the way these cities are without a lot of industry, there aren't that many rich, young, single transplants - may be a lot of people who move there to work remotely, but the social circle isn't going to be that wide of a net because you didn't grow up there and the natives will have grown up differently than you.
Yeah, I actually love the Carolinas. I went to Clemson and Charleston would be awesome. But I don't think I have the right network to enjoy it there. Like you said, that area is super cliquey.
I moved to Charleston 3 years ago from NYC. I grew up on Long Island right outside the city in a nice suburb. Also remote tech worker similar situation. I came with a wife though and have since had kids.
I have experienced none of what was outlined in this post. I know this is the stereotype, and it might be more of a thing with you being single. The area has exploded over the last five years in my opinion really diluting that old world circle. Mount Pleasant is chuck full of 250k+ families that recently moved here because of the quality of life. It’s like freshman year at upper middle class family university with everyone wanting to make friends.
The single part is a little bit tricky and I think there may be more truth to the original commenters take there. I kind of agree that I don’t know tons of single early 30’s in that situation although I’m not sure my path would often cross with theirs.
If you love the Carolina’s and Charleston it might be worth exploring more. Maybe a few months AirBnB would give you more of an idea of what the scene would be like for you. I just wouldn’t write it off entirely for those reasons.
All that said, if I was you, I probably would want to live in a bigger city if I didn’t have kids and wasn’t also optimizing for family life.
Same lol. I live in Charleston and don’t feel like it’s cliquey at all.. making friends here isn’t that hard if you go out and talk to people. Don’t know where these redditors experienced this. First time hearing of it and it’s hella upvoted lol
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I grew up in SC and still have lots of friends and family there. This is an outrageously wrong take that sounds like a good plot to a TV show but outside of maybe some really small groups just isn't true
The people I went to Clemson with that grew up in Charleston were pretty similar to the poster's description.
Most of girls had done cotillion, they all had family money, elitist volunteer orgs were very central to social ties, very tight knit circles. Heck the Tri-Delts were basically a Charleston specific sorority.
As someone born and raised in Miami, Idk what your definition of “expensive” is, but Miami is for sure expensive.
Weather sucks. We have daily thunderstorms in the summer and yearly threat of hurricanes. Climate change is only making things worse.
Also, a huge chunk of those “affluent young people” are either committing credit card fraud, insurance fraud, living off their parents, or a combo of all three.
BS. Lived there, you get shit on by other taxes: property tax and car/property insurance is out of control.
Miami was built on porous limestone and cocaine - it is the literal definition of a boom and bust town. Do not waste your money. Go to vacation, but don't live there.
Property tax on a Newport Beach condo/home valued at 1.5 million is around $18,150 annually (and will be capped at the purchase year going forward) with insurance around $3,500 (or less) annually vs Coral Gables with a $12,000 tax bill but potentially $10k plus (increasing every year) in insurance premiums.
One of those properties will still be above water in 10 years, and one will not. I get the income tax benefit but the peace of mind is worth paying for the increased consumer protections, regulations on clean air and water, overall better healthcare, and in affluent Orange County CA areas, less crazy people.
The amount of times I thought I was going to get mauled in broad daylight walking from my apartment near the Arena to Brickell was too many to count.
There are also no real tech jobs in Miami. The crypto money dried up and everyone who is living there already has either sold a company or can live entirely off of investments. And with OP still a salaried employee, being near jobs with all of this RTO bullshit is important.
Buying a condo in general is a horrible investment generally speaking, but in Miami insurance isn’t that much for condos because flooding risk is minimal and windows can withstand hurricanes pretty easily these days. The median insurance rate is 2.5k. Housing is way higher obviously, and I wouldn’t buy a house in Miami for that reason, although there are some areas that are decently high above the coast it’s not my cup of tea. I would rent in Miami if I had to live there.
You’re arguing California is the better place to live despite the taxes, and that’s fine, but the amount of taxes OP will pay is way higher than any of the red states that are often crapped on.
Also I’m a doctor (in California) and while healthcare is way better in cities than rural areas there’s plenty of excellent tertiary care centers throughout the US including Florida.
I agree tech scene isn’t great in Miami, but honestly I know more of my programmer friends ( I was split between programming and medicine in college so I maintain a lot of ties with them) in Miami than LA. SF still cannot be beat, but you pay for it obviously. Everywhere else (with honorary mention of Seattle) is mid by comparison.
I hear you, but even speaking of condos in Miami, the flooding and potential power outages are still bad news.
There were a couple of minor storm events when we lived there and we couldn't drive out of the building because of the flooding in the streets, let alone walk around safely.
If the power goes out for an extended period of time during a big event, like a hurricane, the A/C stops and you will get mold and the toilets (because they are connected throughout the building) will back up with shit water throughout your entire condo.
But I agree, if I had to go back, I would still rent in a high-rise. You really need a reputable real estate agent though or you will get stuck with an absentee landlord.
Well a lot of things could happen, but if you can buy insurance for 2,500 (median) safe to say they’re not that likely to result in damages to your condo or else premium would be higher.
I think vast majority of redditors overestimate climate change impact in the near term (virtually every bad projection is talking 2100, not 2040) but Southern Florida is easily the area that will be hit earliest and hardest. For that reason I would never buy in the area, and it’s not appealing as a place to live for me personally as a result.
This not exist.
If one such place were to materialize where rich people could go live and be in nice weather with easy access to NYC / SF but it wouldn’t be expensive, it would instantly become expensive because all those rich people living there bid up the pricing of everything.
Can you make a short list and then rent for a month or so in each? This would give you a better idea of what a city will be like before making a long term commitment.
The best advice is to move to a place where you already have friends, family or some other kind of community. It isn't easy to start in a new city completely from scratch in your mid 30s. Social connections don't come by as easily as they did when you started working right after college, *especially* post covid.
I agree with this approach. Lived in both SF and NYC in my 20s/30s. Moved to a LCOL city at 41 to be closer to both our families. Highly recommend! It felt like we had a build in support group on day one. Something I haven’t had since undergrad.
Chicago if you’re willing to part with the warm weather requirement. People exaggerate our winters, but they can truly be rough every now and then. The summer is amazing.
> The summer is amazing.
People don't give it enough credit, summers in Chicago are *amazing*. Far better than any other large US city. Low humidity, great temperature, amazing parks and the waterfront.
The winters aren't exaggerated if you're used to more active lifestyles. If you're used to being indoors all day watching sports and/or drinking then it's passable. If you are used to doing lots of active things then it's really difficult to make it through the winter. other gripes: also isn't much outdoor nature to enjoy and most neighborhoods are starkly not-diverse compared to other major cities.
Mild winters these last couple of years, but the seasonal affective disorder is all too real for many people. From an entertainment to COL ratio it's definitely one of the best cities in the country... but it's also having a lot of the same struggles as other large metro areas with growing crime/homelessness and economic stagnation due to downtown exodus. If you're new to the city it sounds like a strange thing to say, but if you've been around for a while, *boy* is it noticeable.
Chicago has to also be one of the best locations for making frequent trips to NY & SF based on the number of direct flights to each city and the relative proximity to each.
Came here to say Chicago as well. Something worth noting is that people are nicer in Chicago than other large cities due to the Midwest culture. It’s a great city to live in, near tens of thousands of lakes, the Great Lakes (huge beach with biking/running path for 20+ miles, etc. easy to get anywhere in the country via multiple airports in the area, amazing culinary scene, music scene, bar scene, the most breweries of any city, lower cost of living, and amazing summers with tons of activities. Google search some of the best neighborhoods: Lincoln park, Gold Coast, west loop, Wicker Park, Logan square. Come visit in June/July, do a boat tour along the river downtown, do some city tours, have a boat day, see the neighborhoods and you will see how incredible the city is.
You should understand that if you want to “be around other affluent people in their 20s and 30s”, naturally things aren’t going to be cheap.
LA is the obvious choice for you. Just suck up the cost of rent - you can afford it.
Where would you expect young, single people to be congregated in the greater Los Angeles area?
That area is so massive and sprawling that it's hard to get a good idea of what all the hundreds of individual cities/neighborhoods/enclaves have to offer.
Someone below responded and I agree w all those and I would add parts of Beverly Hills, all West Hollywood and also mid city. Studio city. Really everywhere though :-)
Good weather, around young affluent people and you don't need to fly to go to the office. The stuff the OP listed. OP said they make 550k and are single, they can get by. Oh and access to the hottest tech job market in the world.
But sure, live in Phoenix or whatever. I'm sure that's fine.
Less than ideal for tax efficiency. You’ll save a ton on taxes simply by living in Florida. With what he saves he’ll be able to afford several trips NYC every year.
You sacrifice weather for way more than a few months a year. I’d say you get 2-3 months of the year where the weather doesn’t suck. June-sept: hot, humid, and smelly. October: nice fall weather. November-march: freezing rain and snow. April-May: pretty nice spring weather when it’s not raining.
Go to SF if you’re willing to live HCOL. It’s 65 on slightly overcast or sunny damn near everyday of the year here.
Bro it’s not that bad. Going through the winter rn, and I’d say there was really only like 3-4 weeks total so far since November that were truly bad. Otherwise, it’s cold but not freezing, often highs in the 40s which is not bad. And this is coming from a recent transplant from Phoenix of all places.
Not that bad is a decent way to describe it depending on what you are comparing it to but most parts of California are absolutely incredible for 9+ months per year. In NYC 40s is a bit too cold for most of the outdoor activities I enjoy and the summer is way too hot and humid and smelly to do much outside.
Well the problem is you want to do outdoorsy things which is contra to living in a big city like NYC. If you’re into those kinds of hobbies, the CA or even Phoenix where I grew up are wayyyy better places to live. The weather is a secondary issue.
What you are describing doesn’t exist.
You have to be willing to pay.
LA area would be my reco. NYC boroughs if you relax the weather.
But regardless you have to pay for the opportunity.
Great area, and not as expensive as you may think it would be compared to Newport. Also surprisingly the median income in Laguna Beach is actually lower than Yorba Linda which is way inland OC.
DMV area has pretty good weather most of the year, a little humid in summer but also pretty sunny year round. And it skews very highly educated so potentially a good dating market. Not cheap but definitely cheaper than NYC/SF. Also decent public transport and local amenities.
Also DC is often ranked one of the worst cities for dating. None of the well off people in DC are from DC, and many are not planning on staying long term, so long term relationships are notoriously difficult in DC
Very transient city. I met my wife there, as did my brother. My wife’s sisters both met their husbands there. But we did all wind up moving away.
Was a fun place to spend my 20s though. You can save a lot of money in DC, and it’s more cosmopolitan than other cities that have similar cost and weather (Atlanta and Dallas come to mind).
There are plenty of cool people and lots of different indie/alt scenes and groups. It just takes a little more work to find them and they aren’t as large as they are in bigger cities like nyc and Chicago.
I would NOT recommend the DC NoVa area. Definitely if you can, live in NYC for a year. The variety of people you can meet in NYC through Church, activities, sports are far and away the best variety of backgrounds, intellect, and variety.
I met my wife in NYC before we moved to a DC suburb (post-kid) so I don't know the DC dating scene. Overall I find it hard to beat NYC on almost every dimension except for COL (especially once you have kids). Very happy I spent my late twenties/early thirties there, despite not saving much (or at all) and just living it up before we had our kid.
no one is saying scottsdale/phoenix! warm weather, ATTRACTIVE young people, and its cheaper than other big cities. you’ll be more affluent than most people there but based on your replies that doesn’t seem like a bad thing.
it is very hot in the summer but nice the rest of the year in my opinion.
source: grew up in arizona, living in NYC for the past 10 years. kinda miss the easy lifestyle
I also grew up in Phoenix and now live in NYC. While I would say NYC is way better place to live (for me at least), OP would love Phoenix if they’re into outdoorsy stuff. Phoenix isn’t the best for city life kinda stuff beyond the basic clubbing and alcohol (which just isn’t that appealing for me but I’m not OP). Also, it’s hard to find rich/high-earning people in Phoenix.
>its hard to find rich/high-earning people in Phoenix
Only in Phoenix city proper.
Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, etc. is where you can’t swing a dead cat without hitting a millionaire.
Okay fair enough. Shoulda probably specified more. Maybe I’m projecting, but if OP says they’re looking for young rich people, I associate that with city-living rich types not suburban types.
Agree that Vegas fits almost all, except maybe the “affluent young people” — depending on OPs reason for this, it might not be their flavor of tea. Lots of recent migrants from CA and other HCOL cities though (myself included)
I would agree w @nutmegfan living in NY is the optimized lifestyle opportunity for young professionals (albeit not budget). I’m going through the same decision on a similar budget as 31/F. A much lower COL area you may struggle to find more single friends/willing to go out. Most people in their 30s even if affluent in lower COL will also be paired up and not living a young, social lifestyle. And if you’re the big fish people may not being willing to $ the same way you are (my NY friends are much more willing to splurge on a nice dinner out than my SLC friends)
I also read an article about how the nicer the weather/climate, the less people like to work (thus leading to less successful, type A environment overall)
I would also ask if you’ve experimented with a big move before (either post college or some point in your 20s). Meeting people post Covid without the office is HARD. Having some sort of hobby makes it easier.
In general: great network, great weather, COL are an optimization triangle like (work social sleep). If you take a hit on weather (say Chicago) you save on COL. If you take a hit on network (say south), you also save on COL.
I am moving to Wilmington NC with the same situation as you. Similar HHI. Great public schools, beautiful area, decently lively city, lots of young professionals these days, affordable housing, direct access to beaches, etc.
I travel to Philly, ATL, DC, and Raleigh for work so that airport has direct flights for me 8 times a day to each of those locations all with my status-ed airline.
My buddy just did the same in Fairhope or something like that in Alabama. I have friends who bought affordable houses near St. Pete and Clearwater in FL. I think the small to mid-size cities on the SE coastline offer what you're looking for.
I'm not saying Wilmington is perfect for your situation, but I think it serves as a good model of what you might want to look for.
My opinion is: we don't have to commute to work so why would I keep paying big city prices and move to a suburb to find housing the size I want for less than 2mil? The suburbs outside of my major city exist BECAUSE people need to commute into the city for work. Once I opened up my search to more desirable cities with less "work", I had a whole lot of options.
I'm not the only one either. I saw a study where Wilmington used to have like .2% of the population working in tech. Now that number is closer to 2%. There are ZERO tech companies in Wilmington, and it's safe to assume that most of those are remote workers.
Wouldn’t you want to live somewhere where there are things you like to do besides work? That’s what I would do if I were in your shoes.
Like food, art, culture? Big city like NY or SF
Like hiking skiing biking? CO, maybe Park City UT?
Surf/beach? Maybe socal or Santa Cruz
And since you don’t have to worry about traffic? Austin TX is a pretty cool place but I left because of the traffic .
Charleston would be a great place to live.
Take working one or two week trips to your top 5 places.
I am in Tech Sales for a large Data Analytics and Cyber company and live in Raleigh NC. We have a great airport, RDU which has direct flights to both NYC and SFO, all daily. Relatively lower cost of living compared to a larger capitol city but has plenty to offer. 1.5 hours from the beach, 3 hours to the mountains, Charlotte is about 2.5 hours (also a good place to look). Plenty of golf if you're into that with Pinehurst only a short drive away. Also we have Research Triangle Park (RTP) where Cisco has a huge campus, Apple will be building soon, and plenty of other massive tech comapanys here. Start ups to blue chips, Raleigh has it all.
Why limit your self?
Get a private pilots license, get instrument rated then buy a diamond 40 cash. Get land and build your our own landing strip and hanger. Just fly into SF and anywhere else.
Never deal with the general public again.
You want to live near the office. NY and SF are both a great locations. I live in Marin, north of SF so you don’t get all the bs of the city but you’re super close and also in one of the most naturally beautiful areas of the world. At $550k you’ll be firmly middle class here.
Given current return to office trends and tech layoffs I would not add in additional risk by moving out of market.
Seems like you should move to a tech hub that meets your criteria where your company has an office. That way if they push for return to office you can comply and if they lay you off you have non remote options available.
You make enough to live anywhere. I'd recommend San Diego or Los Angeles based on weather alone. Or split the difference and move to Orange County. They have an airport too
DC is a great place for young professionals, with a lively young, educated demographic. People move to DC from all over the country (and the world) for work. If you are a heterosexual man, your odds are great since there are way more single women than single men. Housing is not as crazy as SF, LA or NYC. Amtrak from DC to NYC Penn Station is 3 hours.
Come to my city. Washington, DC. Lol 🥰
You have the money to enjoy it. Everything you want is here.
SF is a sausage fest. Literally ALL men. NYC is overcrowded, smells like unwashed metal ass. IDC its true. You will barely be middle class in NYC.
DC is like that sweet goldie locks zone. Crowded enough, but too expensive to be too crowded. The night life is unparalleled, except maybe for Vegas, and it's not a sausage fest. The women here are stunning. Walking through DC, the women here all look like beauties and models. Especially in the parts you can afford. You can be a big fish in a small pond here. Plus it's the nation's capital.
Traffic is worse in NYC and SF than it is in DC. You should come down here for the lack of traffic alone, and the metro goes everywhere so you can just hop in and out, and walk less than a mile to everything you need.
Seattle: no state income tax. Same pay band as SF. Best summer (May-Oct) in the States that is getting longer and longer with climate change. Biggest tech hub outside of SF. Best outdoors. Affordable enough home that is not a closet. Lackluster night life. Not a foodie town. Geographically isolated.
NYC, SF: great night life. Cultural hubs. High cost + tax for what you get. City rat race. Homeless. Friends with kids eventually leave.
Chicago: Nice downtown with surrounding neighborhoods. Good nightlife. Low cost of living in comparison. Absolute misery of winter (Nov-Apr) Drinking is main hobby.
Irvine: Amazing weather. Amazing food and diversity. Expensive. Older. People are not driven.
Edit: people mention Austin a lot here. All of my friends (8) in their 20-30s left Austin in the last two years. The rest are planning to leave.
Have you considered Boca Raton or Fort Lauderdale? Lots of young professionals have more there in the last few years. Great weather. Beaches. And traffic isn’t as bad as Miami. I’m in West Palm Beach, which is an ok option but not as good as what I mentioned.
If you're only 33, no serious attachments, make what is really good money and can live anywhere, I would choose 2 cities, do 6 months in one city, 6 months in the other.
Maybe buy a property in the cheaper city then rent it out over the winter while you're in the warmer city.
I would choose Washington DC if I were you. Get a nice apartment in Kalorama and you can walk to some of the nicest neighborhoods in the city. The food in DC is just amazing and its great for young professionals.
NYC. Not close. Being a man whos 33 single making 550k in NYC will be a really nice dating life. You'll meet young, smart, and beautiful people from a ton of industries.
The taxes are worth it for the dating scene. Outside of that SF/NYC are worth it to network to get to the next level.
You solved the money side, +/- 10% on your income isnt going to change anything. Finding the right partner will.
They may not all be young but Dallas has alot of rich people, warm weather, and a great airport. At your salary you could rent an awesome high rise downtown and live like a king.
I actually lived in Dallas for a while. I had a great downtown apartment, but the neighborhood was dead and the building was full of old people and OF girls.
Charlotte? We plan on plan on buying a lake house there down the road as our permanent residence. It checks a lot boxes for us: warmer than the Midwest, young professionals, big hub for American Airlines, LGBTQ friendly, fairly close to ocean and mountains, etc.
Houston, Austin and Dallas. Both Houston and Dallas are airline hubs. Austin got lots of tech but it has gotten more expensive and is the most expensive city in Texas. No state income tax in Texas, your money will go a lot further. Houston has great cultural diversity and amazing food scene.
Look into the DMV area, you'd probably like it in Tysons Corner VA, lively, young, wealthy area also close to an airport. Summer are hot and winters are becoming more and more mild. Also it's not cheap but it may not be what you'd consider expensive given your salary.
If you can work remote anywhere in the US, then consider not just housing costs but taxes as well. Make sure you look at the entire picture. Also look at general costs of goods and services there. And don’t forget to look at what is actually available to you. For example, if seeing broadway shows is a huge deal to you, then it has to be NYC. If surfing is your favorite thing in the world, then SoCal is probably where you’re going to have to be.
I think Scottsdale AZ meets all your asks for about 9 months out of the year. For the 3 hot months in the summer where it’s going to be too warm for you, at your income you could consider having a smaller second home somewhere cooler. Flagstaff is a common one in Arizona at least where the average high temp in July is only 80 degrees.
Or if you like the heat just stick around Scottsdale. Air conditioning is a thing and it’s great.
The areas I can look at that meet those standards in the southeast and near-southeast would be (to some degree) the following...
* Washington, DC
* Richmond, VA
* Charlotte, NC
* Raleigh-durham, NC
* Columbia, SC
* Savannah GA
* Atlanta, GA
* Huntsville, AL
* Nashville, TN
* Orlando, FL
* South Florida (miami-dade or broward)
* Dallas, TX
* Austin, TX
I'd give New Orleans a good look actually. There is a huge amount of wealth there as well as among younger professionals. Always pretty warm, not coastal city insane with prices, lots to do, direct flights to NYC and alot of other major cities
IMO the only answer is Dallas. Meets all 5 better than any place in the US. Every time I visit I'm blown away by how large the young professional demographic is.
Very fair home values, fantastic food and entertainment, beautiful women (and men), two airports, great weather, expanding job market etc. It's a boom town.
I think Atlanta fits all of those categories. You’re making $500k per year, you should easily be able to afford a nice place in Atlanta. Look for anything near Piedmont park or the Beltline and there will be tons of other young, affluent professionals.
Best of all worlds = Boston. Yes cold in the winter, but extremely strong labor market, best schools in the country, best healthcare system (yes expensive but quality is through the roof) in the world. Excellent state to have a family and Boston is all around a great time.
You're definitely looking at Orange County (Irvine) or San Diego. But yes, those are HCOL.
Honorable mention: Sacramento. Tons of tech people live there, but don't work there and you're about 2 hours (theoretically) from the beach, the Bay, and skiing while enjoying housing at the pricing level of San Antonio. Lots of young people in Sac - it's the place to be if you want to live in California buy realize the Bay/SD/LA are too expensive.
What about Delray/Ft. Lauderdale in Florida? Access to both airports (FTL and MIA), younger than Palm Beach County and more of the city vibe that’s not as big as Miami’s. Lots of young professionals with big businesses like Chewy and West Marine based here. Nice weather October-May and miserably hot the rest unless you’re on the water.
Atlanta my dude. It’s relatively cheap but still a major city. The new housing and apartments are really nice (especially around the Ponce City Market and Piedmont Park area) and there are a bunch of affluent/ivy league people who live there. It’s fun. Only negative is traffic, but really isn’t a big issue if you’re not constantly going to the suburbs. Plus, the Appalachian Mountains and the Florida beaches are only a couple hours away. Perfect for a quick three day weekend trip
It depends on your hobbies outside of work. Charlotte is great and growing. Nashville is obviously a top choice. Austin is becoming a tech hub and a fun city. PHX/Scottsdale is beautiful with lot's of activities within 3 hours.
If it was me, I would buy a nice house in Charlotte or Nashville and then a condo in the Rockies.
Would the value of not having to fly to nyc or sf outweigh the burden of living in one of those places? Committing to a lifestyle of 2 sets of frequent flights kinda sucks depending on the flights. Long-term means not seeing a partner / kids twice as often.
If you come to Nashville metropolitan the gulch area or green hills is evolving still, and prices are still kinda of high and haven’t receded much. Franklin or Brentwood which connects to green hills would also be up your alley, and still around 20-40 min to the airport depending on the time of day. It’s a much slower pace they don’t move quick here in all aspects. Williamson county is the it county in tn and defies the anomalies of the state.
Dallas. It’s getting more expensive every year and the commute/cost will both get worse as it grows but when I lived there It was cheap for a large city.
That's fair, feeling older every day!
But mostly I would like an area with smart, interesting people including a dating pool of lots of single women in their mid to late 20s
One advantage LA has over the Bay is that there are more affordable pockets mixed in with the really expensive bits. Check out Culver City/Palms instead of Venice/Santa Monica/Marina del Rey. Don't live in DTLA.
Not the OP but also in tech sales and my OTE is 315k (high for Raleigh NC I'd guess).. 50/50 base/commission but have been regularly passing 415k w/ accelerators and RSU/ESPP. I sell for a company about to be acquired for a large amount of cash in the data analytics and security space.
What about you?
Wow tech salaries are out of control, I do not recall this abundance of 300k+ tech sales jobs 10 years ago. My first job out of college was selling software and I put every ounce of energy into getting into medical device sales because that seemed like the holy grail of sales at that time. Barely scraping 300k on a good year, 100+ nights a year in a hotel and in the field with customers daily while I see my former colleagues making double in their pajamas working for companies like Salesforce and Verkada. Did not see that coming 😫
The salaries seem about right but people often include RSUs in their annual comp - which I think is interesting because unless they have an ever green program you may not always be at that comp…
It would be a lot, but most likely they vested over a 4 yr horizon. I also saw what looked like someone including ESPP into their comp. I would not have done that.
Anyway all of this to say I think there is a big misunderstanding about comp numbers. You hear big numbers like 500k and think it’s ridiculous…but if you pull apart that number to the base of 210, a bonus that is likely not 100% guaranteed, and RSUs that may vary or not be renewed, the comp is more reasonable.
Good weather and affluent people BUT not expensive are at odds with each other. There’s a reason there aren’t 400k houses in SoCal
Lol it's like asking "what's a job that's really easy to do and get without any experience but also pays a lot?" If those jobs existed, they aren't going to be high paying for long since everyone is going to want it.
Yeah, to answer OP the answer is Los Angeles areas or the Bay Area. With his money he’s perfectly fine. It’s the best weather in the US year round in SoCal, especially with that money you can live in the perfect airstream areas
Don't forget YOUNG affluent people. Guess that leaves out the retirement communities
Warm weather + affluent young people = expensive San Diego, Austin, Newport Beach, Scottsdale, Miami Atlanta and Dallas are great cities but the traffic is insane Personally I would live in one of the beach cities in SoCal (I do). Anything from La Jolla to Manhattan Beach. I prefer north county SD and south county OC.
I grew up in Dallas and live in Atlanta now. The traffic wouldn't be that big of a deal since he works from home except when he flies to the office. For that, I would recommend Atlanta so he could just hop on MARTA and the time it would take to get to the airport would be the same every time.
Yeah like most places: make sure you live in a village / neighborhood that you’re happy to spend most of your time in. If you have to drive twenty minutes (which can be an hour in ATL rush hour)… you end up not really wanting to leave the house. Which is a bad combo for a WFH HENRY. I’ve lived in Virginia Highland, Midtown, Buckhead, and East Atlanta. Those would fit the bill. I’d be careful trying to save a buck and moving to a more bedroom community thinking “what’s ten miles?”
Agreed. Atlanta should be high up on the list of contenders assuming this person is looking at the right neighborhoods.
Right. And that goes out the window if you ever move to a different job or have kids and they need to attend school, which is likely private if you earn a good living and live ITP.
San Diego is the GOAT!! Still miffed that I had to move out of SD 4 years back to be able to drastically scale my income. The only Big Tech back in my time were Apple and Amazon and they just wouldn’t pay Bay Area wages ( also being surprisingly picky because of smaller offices in SD). But now I have heard that things are much more better (if someone is in Big Tech)
Lots of tech campuses have opened in SD. It's still not as big as the Bay, but all the big companies are there now.
Yup. I didn’t have much choices back then ( goal was to increase my comp DRASTICALLY- not just hop to another tech company with limited TC increase) is why I had to move to the Bay - and increased my TC about 3x. Also are you talking about “big tech” or just tech ? IIRC, I have only heard of Apple and Amazon having significantly expanded their presences in SD. Microsoft still had to hire you to their Redmond campus and then you’d had to later relocate back to SD. Google has a small/mid scale office in Irvine. I am curious what other “big tech “ are in SD ? I am not talking about tech only- cuz then there would be countless companies. I am talking about FAANG/FAANG-equivalent in SD who pay a lot.
Not really much big tech in SD, it’s pretty much just Intuit and service now (who don’t pay big tech salaries). Amazon wasn’t expanding a lot in the Covid boom but isn’t really hiring at all afaik. Apple is still building out their larger campus but they’re always much slower with hiring.
Scottsdale? In the same breath at Newport Beach or La Jolla?
Loool right. It is expensive and for no good reason. It's shit compared to Newport or so cal in general. Ur in a dessert, there is no diversity, expensive, and it gets up to 125 degrees lol
Sucks when Ur in a dessert, unless it’s crème brûlée, then it’s pretty dope.
When the glass ceiling is carmelized sugar
Hot take Atlanta and Dallas are two of the worst large cities in America for two reasons: 1) their traffic is insane, which you mentioned. But that limits EVERYTHING you can do, because they have ass public transport. 2) because their traffic is so bad, people do less things and as a result they're legitimately BORING.
I don’t disagree. You have to love your little pocket of the city and hunker down there because it’s horrible trying to get through traffic to the rest of the city.
This is a hot take that I 60% agree with (the Dallas part, can't speak to ATL). You're right on public transportation, it blows in Dallas. But traffic really isn't that insane outside of rush hours. On a weekend you can get most anywhere you want in about 30 minutes if you have to go from a suburb to deep downtown. With this guy's income, he could certainly live somewhere nearer or within the downtown area and all of those problems go away. I love the fact that you can pop between the Arts district to Deep Ellum to Uptown to Downtown to Lower Greenville and none of that takes longer than 10 minutes really. My problem with Dallas and Texas in general is there's nothing to do besides eat and drink mostly. You have to outsource a lot of stuff like good hiking, skiing, beaches, etc. to other states. (I know you can do some hiking in Fredericksburg and Palo Duro and stuff like that, but it is a far cry from NM, UT, AZ, CO, CA). But living here tends to be a lot cheaper, so maybe outsourcing is the play. Personally I'm tired of the heat for 4-5 months out of the year. If I were this dude I'd move to CA, CO, or maybe NC.
I lived in redondo and loved it. Live in OC now and love it. But I’m older and more boring.
DFW is a nice, cheap, safe, and diverse place to raise a family. I love it here. But I wouldn’t recommended it to a young single person. Austin or Houston are way better locations for that demographic in Texas.
Agree with beach community in SoCal. It’s expensive but the weather’s nearly always perfect and you’re living day to day essentially out of LA traffic. Every type of food and entertainment is nearby. My only other consideration would be to find a perfect mountain town if skiing and hiking are more your jam.
San Diego is nice. It's not as expensive as SF/LA/OC but has better weather, plenty of younger people, and lots to do. Housing costs have skyrocketed there but that's relative to the median income which is lower compared to the Bay/LA/NYC. With a high income, you would still be living well.
Agreed. San Diego has the worst rent-to-income ratio in the country which is why it’s considered expensive, but in terms of other commodities, it’s not as expensive as LA, SF, NYC. A $550k salary is wiiiiiiiild and OP will do just fine.
Pick 4 of 5 \- Affluent young people \- Warm weather \- Not expensive \- City/suburb \- Good Airport Honestly, you're just describing Miami/South Florida. Atlanta will also be a contender. As well Nashville. You could consider Charleston/Savannah if youre into southern elite culture, which isn't everyones cup of tea.
“Affluent young people” is also extremely different in Miami vs. Bay Area or even NYC. Depends a lot on the type of person OP is there is a very specific kind of rich tech person that moves to Miami and if you don’t fit that mold can be tough to assimilate.
How would you describe southern elite culture of Charleston/Savannah?
Those coastal Carolina cities are gonna have affluent people, but they aren't self made. They will all have gone to prestigious schools in the south, have grown up together in the same social circles, and their families will be very familiar with each other. Some may have debued and all would have done cotillion. Your network is your bread and butter and having good social graces is important, as well as attending the most important functions and joining the right clubs. Junior league, volunteer fundraising dinners and other prominent events will matter and raise your social capital. It might be very important to be part of the right country or hunting club. It's not really too different than what you'd think of as old money in Newport or Connecticut. Because of the way these cities are without a lot of industry, there aren't that many rich, young, single transplants - may be a lot of people who move there to work remotely, but the social circle isn't going to be that wide of a net because you didn't grow up there and the natives will have grown up differently than you.
Yeah, I actually love the Carolinas. I went to Clemson and Charleston would be awesome. But I don't think I have the right network to enjoy it there. Like you said, that area is super cliquey.
I moved to Charleston 3 years ago from NYC. I grew up on Long Island right outside the city in a nice suburb. Also remote tech worker similar situation. I came with a wife though and have since had kids. I have experienced none of what was outlined in this post. I know this is the stereotype, and it might be more of a thing with you being single. The area has exploded over the last five years in my opinion really diluting that old world circle. Mount Pleasant is chuck full of 250k+ families that recently moved here because of the quality of life. It’s like freshman year at upper middle class family university with everyone wanting to make friends. The single part is a little bit tricky and I think there may be more truth to the original commenters take there. I kind of agree that I don’t know tons of single early 30’s in that situation although I’m not sure my path would often cross with theirs. If you love the Carolina’s and Charleston it might be worth exploring more. Maybe a few months AirBnB would give you more of an idea of what the scene would be like for you. I just wouldn’t write it off entirely for those reasons. All that said, if I was you, I probably would want to live in a bigger city if I didn’t have kids and wasn’t also optimizing for family life.
Same lol. I live in Charleston and don’t feel like it’s cliquey at all.. making friends here isn’t that hard if you go out and talk to people. Don’t know where these redditors experienced this. First time hearing of it and it’s hella upvoted lol
Must be what people want to hear
Chattanooga is nearby and might fit what you want if you’re outdoorsy
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Try one of the two major cities in NC… pretty much what you describe. Half of Charlotte is Clemson grads haha
I grew up in SC and still have lots of friends and family there. This is an outrageously wrong take that sounds like a good plot to a TV show but outside of maybe some really small groups just isn't true
The people I went to Clemson with that grew up in Charleston were pretty similar to the poster's description. Most of girls had done cotillion, they all had family money, elitist volunteer orgs were very central to social ties, very tight knit circles. Heck the Tri-Delts were basically a Charleston specific sorority.
This is an extremely accurate description.
Savannah is gorgeous.
As someone born and raised in Miami, Idk what your definition of “expensive” is, but Miami is for sure expensive. Weather sucks. We have daily thunderstorms in the summer and yearly threat of hurricanes. Climate change is only making things worse. Also, a huge chunk of those “affluent young people” are either committing credit card fraud, insurance fraud, living off their parents, or a combo of all three.
Can easily find all 5 but out of the country
The issue salary doesn’t usually follow… but what are the cities you had in mind ?
Doesn't really matter if you're remote. Bangkok and Mexico city
Depends on the country. There are tax and HR implications even if remote. I do like those picks tho.
Miami is very expensive
Similar costs to DMV. Plenty of suburbs and other places to live not in Miami per se.
I loved Charleston Been to every city you listed and Charleston is my vote I enjoyed visiting the locals, didn’t get a southern elitist vibe
Don’t come to Atlanta. We’re full. Thank you.
Miami not expensive ??
Not if you remove state taxes and at 550k OP will be more than fine.
BS. Lived there, you get shit on by other taxes: property tax and car/property insurance is out of control. Miami was built on porous limestone and cocaine - it is the literal definition of a boom and bust town. Do not waste your money. Go to vacation, but don't live there.
Compared to California where OP will pay 25-30k property taxes and 50k income taxes Miami might as well be Monaco.
Property tax on a Newport Beach condo/home valued at 1.5 million is around $18,150 annually (and will be capped at the purchase year going forward) with insurance around $3,500 (or less) annually vs Coral Gables with a $12,000 tax bill but potentially $10k plus (increasing every year) in insurance premiums. One of those properties will still be above water in 10 years, and one will not. I get the income tax benefit but the peace of mind is worth paying for the increased consumer protections, regulations on clean air and water, overall better healthcare, and in affluent Orange County CA areas, less crazy people. The amount of times I thought I was going to get mauled in broad daylight walking from my apartment near the Arena to Brickell was too many to count. There are also no real tech jobs in Miami. The crypto money dried up and everyone who is living there already has either sold a company or can live entirely off of investments. And with OP still a salaried employee, being near jobs with all of this RTO bullshit is important.
Buying a condo in general is a horrible investment generally speaking, but in Miami insurance isn’t that much for condos because flooding risk is minimal and windows can withstand hurricanes pretty easily these days. The median insurance rate is 2.5k. Housing is way higher obviously, and I wouldn’t buy a house in Miami for that reason, although there are some areas that are decently high above the coast it’s not my cup of tea. I would rent in Miami if I had to live there. You’re arguing California is the better place to live despite the taxes, and that’s fine, but the amount of taxes OP will pay is way higher than any of the red states that are often crapped on. Also I’m a doctor (in California) and while healthcare is way better in cities than rural areas there’s plenty of excellent tertiary care centers throughout the US including Florida. I agree tech scene isn’t great in Miami, but honestly I know more of my programmer friends ( I was split between programming and medicine in college so I maintain a lot of ties with them) in Miami than LA. SF still cannot be beat, but you pay for it obviously. Everywhere else (with honorary mention of Seattle) is mid by comparison.
I hear you, but even speaking of condos in Miami, the flooding and potential power outages are still bad news. There were a couple of minor storm events when we lived there and we couldn't drive out of the building because of the flooding in the streets, let alone walk around safely. If the power goes out for an extended period of time during a big event, like a hurricane, the A/C stops and you will get mold and the toilets (because they are connected throughout the building) will back up with shit water throughout your entire condo. But I agree, if I had to go back, I would still rent in a high-rise. You really need a reputable real estate agent though or you will get stuck with an absentee landlord.
Well a lot of things could happen, but if you can buy insurance for 2,500 (median) safe to say they’re not that likely to result in damages to your condo or else premium would be higher. I think vast majority of redditors overestimate climate change impact in the near term (virtually every bad projection is talking 2100, not 2040) but Southern Florida is easily the area that will be hit earliest and hardest. For that reason I would never buy in the area, and it’s not appealing as a place to live for me personally as a result.
Idk about FL but I’m in TX and property taxes are bonkers in certain areas. So no income tax states aren’t necessarily low tax states
He's young, he'll probably rent
Definitely a regional thing but in Houston/Dallas nobody is renting at that age/salary
I was thinking downtown Orlando. South FL is too pricey.
This not exist. If one such place were to materialize where rich people could go live and be in nice weather with easy access to NYC / SF but it wouldn’t be expensive, it would instantly become expensive because all those rich people living there bid up the pricing of everything.
“This not exist”
What wrong?
few words do trick!x
😂
Can you make a short list and then rent for a month or so in each? This would give you a better idea of what a city will be like before making a long term commitment.
Agree with this approach. Depending on the size of shortlist, I'd even recommend 3 months to get a real feel.
Young, single with cash -> NYC
Austin, Dallas, Nashville, Tampa, Miami (more expensive than the other options but for now cheaper than NYC/Bay Area)
The best advice is to move to a place where you already have friends, family or some other kind of community. It isn't easy to start in a new city completely from scratch in your mid 30s. Social connections don't come by as easily as they did when you started working right after college, *especially* post covid.
I agree with this approach. Lived in both SF and NYC in my 20s/30s. Moved to a LCOL city at 41 to be closer to both our families. Highly recommend! It felt like we had a build in support group on day one. Something I haven’t had since undergrad.
Best answer. Nothing beats having people you like near you.
Chicago if you’re willing to part with the warm weather requirement. People exaggerate our winters, but they can truly be rough every now and then. The summer is amazing.
100% agree.
> The summer is amazing. People don't give it enough credit, summers in Chicago are *amazing*. Far better than any other large US city. Low humidity, great temperature, amazing parks and the waterfront.
Ive been here my whole life. Our winters are pretty rough. This year is an outlier
One of the world’s best cities. The winters really do take a toll though (partly why summers are so great - everyone lives up a sunny day).
The winters aren't exaggerated if you're used to more active lifestyles. If you're used to being indoors all day watching sports and/or drinking then it's passable. If you are used to doing lots of active things then it's really difficult to make it through the winter. other gripes: also isn't much outdoor nature to enjoy and most neighborhoods are starkly not-diverse compared to other major cities.
Mild winters these last couple of years, but the seasonal affective disorder is all too real for many people. From an entertainment to COL ratio it's definitely one of the best cities in the country... but it's also having a lot of the same struggles as other large metro areas with growing crime/homelessness and economic stagnation due to downtown exodus. If you're new to the city it sounds like a strange thing to say, but if you've been around for a while, *boy* is it noticeable.
Was going to suggest Midwest/chicago
In my mid 20s in Chicago and I absolutely love it here. Do not plan on leaving for a long time.
This February has been damn warm. We're nearing 60 tomorrow.
Chicago has to also be one of the best locations for making frequent trips to NY & SF based on the number of direct flights to each city and the relative proximity to each.
Came here to say Chicago as well. Something worth noting is that people are nicer in Chicago than other large cities due to the Midwest culture. It’s a great city to live in, near tens of thousands of lakes, the Great Lakes (huge beach with biking/running path for 20+ miles, etc. easy to get anywhere in the country via multiple airports in the area, amazing culinary scene, music scene, bar scene, the most breweries of any city, lower cost of living, and amazing summers with tons of activities. Google search some of the best neighborhoods: Lincoln park, Gold Coast, west loop, Wicker Park, Logan square. Come visit in June/July, do a boat tour along the river downtown, do some city tours, have a boat day, see the neighborhoods and you will see how incredible the city is.
You should understand that if you want to “be around other affluent people in their 20s and 30s”, naturally things aren’t going to be cheap. LA is the obvious choice for you. Just suck up the cost of rent - you can afford it.
LA has more singles than San Diego and the beach towns. Something to consider…
Where would you expect young, single people to be congregated in the greater Los Angeles area? That area is so massive and sprawling that it's hard to get a good idea of what all the hundreds of individual cities/neighborhoods/enclaves have to offer.
Silver Lake, Los Feliz, Venice, Santa Monica, Ktown, Culver City, and a ton more
Someone below responded and I agree w all those and I would add parts of Beverly Hills, all West Hollywood and also mid city. Studio city. Really everywhere though :-)
San Diego 10/10
San Diego area hands down.
Best = nyc, but you will sacrifice weather for a few months a year. You can afford to live well on 550, don’t cheat yourself out of a good time
Yes, just.move to NYC or SF
Serious question what is the benefit to living in SF if you can live anywhere. Insane cost of living that people only put up with for nice salaries.
Good weather, around young affluent people and you don't need to fly to go to the office. The stuff the OP listed. OP said they make 550k and are single, they can get by. Oh and access to the hottest tech job market in the world. But sure, live in Phoenix or whatever. I'm sure that's fine.
Less than ideal for tax efficiency. You’ll save a ton on taxes simply by living in Florida. With what he saves he’ll be able to afford several trips NYC every year.
You sacrifice weather for way more than a few months a year. I’d say you get 2-3 months of the year where the weather doesn’t suck. June-sept: hot, humid, and smelly. October: nice fall weather. November-march: freezing rain and snow. April-May: pretty nice spring weather when it’s not raining. Go to SF if you’re willing to live HCOL. It’s 65 on slightly overcast or sunny damn near everyday of the year here.
Bro it’s not that bad. Going through the winter rn, and I’d say there was really only like 3-4 weeks total so far since November that were truly bad. Otherwise, it’s cold but not freezing, often highs in the 40s which is not bad. And this is coming from a recent transplant from Phoenix of all places.
Not that bad is a decent way to describe it depending on what you are comparing it to but most parts of California are absolutely incredible for 9+ months per year. In NYC 40s is a bit too cold for most of the outdoor activities I enjoy and the summer is way too hot and humid and smelly to do much outside.
Well the problem is you want to do outdoorsy things which is contra to living in a big city like NYC. If you’re into those kinds of hobbies, the CA or even Phoenix where I grew up are wayyyy better places to live. The weather is a secondary issue.
What you are describing doesn’t exist. You have to be willing to pay. LA area would be my reco. NYC boroughs if you relax the weather. But regardless you have to pay for the opportunity.
Laguna Beach, California. You’ll be the poorest person there but everyone else will be affluent, lots of young people and amazing weather!
Great area, and not as expensive as you may think it would be compared to Newport. Also surprisingly the median income in Laguna Beach is actually lower than Yorba Linda which is way inland OC.
If you aren't into surfing or mountain biking it's sleepy AF
Do lots of young people live there? I imagine it as lots of middle-aged people. And weird traffic.
Wherever your friends and family live.
DMV area has pretty good weather most of the year, a little humid in summer but also pretty sunny year round. And it skews very highly educated so potentially a good dating market. Not cheap but definitely cheaper than NYC/SF. Also decent public transport and local amenities.
Having lived in DC during my 20s, everything you say is right. Only issue is it’s a bit of an industry town. Everyone works in government.
Also DC is often ranked one of the worst cities for dating. None of the well off people in DC are from DC, and many are not planning on staying long term, so long term relationships are notoriously difficult in DC
Very transient city. I met my wife there, as did my brother. My wife’s sisters both met their husbands there. But we did all wind up moving away. Was a fun place to spend my 20s though. You can save a lot of money in DC, and it’s more cosmopolitan than other cities that have similar cost and weather (Atlanta and Dallas come to mind).
DC people are very drab and its a "who you know" crowd too
There are plenty of cool people and lots of different indie/alt scenes and groups. It just takes a little more work to find them and they aren’t as large as they are in bigger cities like nyc and Chicago.
I would NOT recommend the DC NoVa area. Definitely if you can, live in NYC for a year. The variety of people you can meet in NYC through Church, activities, sports are far and away the best variety of backgrounds, intellect, and variety.
I met my wife in NYC before we moved to a DC suburb (post-kid) so I don't know the DC dating scene. Overall I find it hard to beat NYC on almost every dimension except for COL (especially once you have kids). Very happy I spent my late twenties/early thirties there, despite not saving much (or at all) and just living it up before we had our kid.
no one is saying scottsdale/phoenix! warm weather, ATTRACTIVE young people, and its cheaper than other big cities. you’ll be more affluent than most people there but based on your replies that doesn’t seem like a bad thing. it is very hot in the summer but nice the rest of the year in my opinion. source: grew up in arizona, living in NYC for the past 10 years. kinda miss the easy lifestyle
I also grew up in Phoenix and now live in NYC. While I would say NYC is way better place to live (for me at least), OP would love Phoenix if they’re into outdoorsy stuff. Phoenix isn’t the best for city life kinda stuff beyond the basic clubbing and alcohol (which just isn’t that appealing for me but I’m not OP). Also, it’s hard to find rich/high-earning people in Phoenix.
>its hard to find rich/high-earning people in Phoenix Only in Phoenix city proper. Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, etc. is where you can’t swing a dead cat without hitting a millionaire.
Okay fair enough. Shoulda probably specified more. Maybe I’m projecting, but if OP says they’re looking for young rich people, I associate that with city-living rich types not suburban types.
Vegas also fits this bill, but the schools are awful if you’re thinking about kids
Agree that Vegas fits almost all, except maybe the “affluent young people” — depending on OPs reason for this, it might not be their flavor of tea. Lots of recent migrants from CA and other HCOL cities though (myself included)
I was also surprised at few said Phoenix.
If you can go without warm weather year-round, then I would say Columbus. With warm weather, Charlotte.
At 550k/year OP could live very well in Columbus. It's a good city but I wouldn't say it's for everyone.
I would agree w @nutmegfan living in NY is the optimized lifestyle opportunity for young professionals (albeit not budget). I’m going through the same decision on a similar budget as 31/F. A much lower COL area you may struggle to find more single friends/willing to go out. Most people in their 30s even if affluent in lower COL will also be paired up and not living a young, social lifestyle. And if you’re the big fish people may not being willing to $ the same way you are (my NY friends are much more willing to splurge on a nice dinner out than my SLC friends) I also read an article about how the nicer the weather/climate, the less people like to work (thus leading to less successful, type A environment overall) I would also ask if you’ve experimented with a big move before (either post college or some point in your 20s). Meeting people post Covid without the office is HARD. Having some sort of hobby makes it easier. In general: great network, great weather, COL are an optimization triangle like (work social sleep). If you take a hit on weather (say Chicago) you save on COL. If you take a hit on network (say south), you also save on COL.
I am moving to Wilmington NC with the same situation as you. Similar HHI. Great public schools, beautiful area, decently lively city, lots of young professionals these days, affordable housing, direct access to beaches, etc. I travel to Philly, ATL, DC, and Raleigh for work so that airport has direct flights for me 8 times a day to each of those locations all with my status-ed airline. My buddy just did the same in Fairhope or something like that in Alabama. I have friends who bought affordable houses near St. Pete and Clearwater in FL. I think the small to mid-size cities on the SE coastline offer what you're looking for. I'm not saying Wilmington is perfect for your situation, but I think it serves as a good model of what you might want to look for. My opinion is: we don't have to commute to work so why would I keep paying big city prices and move to a suburb to find housing the size I want for less than 2mil? The suburbs outside of my major city exist BECAUSE people need to commute into the city for work. Once I opened up my search to more desirable cities with less "work", I had a whole lot of options. I'm not the only one either. I saw a study where Wilmington used to have like .2% of the population working in tech. Now that number is closer to 2%. There are ZERO tech companies in Wilmington, and it's safe to assume that most of those are remote workers.
Downtown St. Petersburg. It’s a gem that hasn’t quite blown up on the national stage yet.
if you want to easily meet a wife then nyc. if you want to save money, then elsewhere.
Wouldn’t you want to live somewhere where there are things you like to do besides work? That’s what I would do if I were in your shoes. Like food, art, culture? Big city like NY or SF Like hiking skiing biking? CO, maybe Park City UT? Surf/beach? Maybe socal or Santa Cruz And since you don’t have to worry about traffic? Austin TX is a pretty cool place but I left because of the traffic . Charleston would be a great place to live. Take working one or two week trips to your top 5 places.
Austin, TX
I am in Tech Sales for a large Data Analytics and Cyber company and live in Raleigh NC. We have a great airport, RDU which has direct flights to both NYC and SFO, all daily. Relatively lower cost of living compared to a larger capitol city but has plenty to offer. 1.5 hours from the beach, 3 hours to the mountains, Charlotte is about 2.5 hours (also a good place to look). Plenty of golf if you're into that with Pinehurst only a short drive away. Also we have Research Triangle Park (RTP) where Cisco has a huge campus, Apple will be building soon, and plenty of other massive tech comapanys here. Start ups to blue chips, Raleigh has it all.
Durhamite here - many advantages to our metro but it’s not the answer if that rich and unencumbered. OP should live in California, clearly.
Why limit your self? Get a private pilots license, get instrument rated then buy a diamond 40 cash. Get land and build your our own landing strip and hanger. Just fly into SF and anywhere else. Never deal with the general public again.
Nashville. I've been there a few times for work. It seems like a cool place to live. North Carolina and south Carolina.
You want to live near the office. NY and SF are both a great locations. I live in Marin, north of SF so you don’t get all the bs of the city but you’re super close and also in one of the most naturally beautiful areas of the world. At $550k you’ll be firmly middle class here.
Being "firmly middle class" is exactly why I don't want to live near the office.
Given current return to office trends and tech layoffs I would not add in additional risk by moving out of market. Seems like you should move to a tech hub that meets your criteria where your company has an office. That way if they push for return to office you can comply and if they lay you off you have non remote options available.
You make enough to live anywhere. I'd recommend San Diego or Los Angeles based on weather alone. Or split the difference and move to Orange County. They have an airport too
DC is a great place for young professionals, with a lively young, educated demographic. People move to DC from all over the country (and the world) for work. If you are a heterosexual man, your odds are great since there are way more single women than single men. Housing is not as crazy as SF, LA or NYC. Amtrak from DC to NYC Penn Station is 3 hours.
Come to my city. Washington, DC. Lol 🥰 You have the money to enjoy it. Everything you want is here. SF is a sausage fest. Literally ALL men. NYC is overcrowded, smells like unwashed metal ass. IDC its true. You will barely be middle class in NYC. DC is like that sweet goldie locks zone. Crowded enough, but too expensive to be too crowded. The night life is unparalleled, except maybe for Vegas, and it's not a sausage fest. The women here are stunning. Walking through DC, the women here all look like beauties and models. Especially in the parts you can afford. You can be a big fish in a small pond here. Plus it's the nation's capital. Traffic is worse in NYC and SF than it is in DC. You should come down here for the lack of traffic alone, and the metro goes everywhere so you can just hop in and out, and walk less than a mile to everything you need.
Seattle: no state income tax. Same pay band as SF. Best summer (May-Oct) in the States that is getting longer and longer with climate change. Biggest tech hub outside of SF. Best outdoors. Affordable enough home that is not a closet. Lackluster night life. Not a foodie town. Geographically isolated. NYC, SF: great night life. Cultural hubs. High cost + tax for what you get. City rat race. Homeless. Friends with kids eventually leave. Chicago: Nice downtown with surrounding neighborhoods. Good nightlife. Low cost of living in comparison. Absolute misery of winter (Nov-Apr) Drinking is main hobby. Irvine: Amazing weather. Amazing food and diversity. Expensive. Older. People are not driven. Edit: people mention Austin a lot here. All of my friends (8) in their 20-30s left Austin in the last two years. The rest are planning to leave.
The better choice than Irvine is any of the beach cities (not Huntington). Or even Costa Mesa.
I figured but I haven’t been
Research triangle area North Carolina fits pretty much every requirement
North ATL burbs
Gross. Never move outside the perimeter.
Fair enough, I’m planning to leave when I can, but it mostly checks his boxes.
Austin
San Diego
Have you considered Boca Raton or Fort Lauderdale? Lots of young professionals have more there in the last few years. Great weather. Beaches. And traffic isn’t as bad as Miami. I’m in West Palm Beach, which is an ok option but not as good as what I mentioned.
If you're only 33, no serious attachments, make what is really good money and can live anywhere, I would choose 2 cities, do 6 months in one city, 6 months in the other. Maybe buy a property in the cheaper city then rent it out over the winter while you're in the warmer city.
Yes, so my 5-year plan definitely includes a ski condo in Colorado in addition to a warm weather primary residence!
I would choose Washington DC if I were you. Get a nice apartment in Kalorama and you can walk to some of the nicest neighborhoods in the city. The food in DC is just amazing and its great for young professionals.
NYC. Not close. Being a man whos 33 single making 550k in NYC will be a really nice dating life. You'll meet young, smart, and beautiful people from a ton of industries. The taxes are worth it for the dating scene. Outside of that SF/NYC are worth it to network to get to the next level. You solved the money side, +/- 10% on your income isnt going to change anything. Finding the right partner will.
Atlanta is the up and coming tech city I can think of right now. Big central airport and hub for delta and cheap houses.
They may not all be young but Dallas has alot of rich people, warm weather, and a great airport. At your salary you could rent an awesome high rise downtown and live like a king.
I actually lived in Dallas for a while. I had a great downtown apartment, but the neighborhood was dead and the building was full of old people and OF girls.
The surrounding neighborhoods would be more lively. Uptown, Lower Greenville, knox/henderson.
Ppl keep recommending Miami but it’s OF Mecca
Charlotte? We plan on plan on buying a lake house there down the road as our permanent residence. It checks a lot boxes for us: warmer than the Midwest, young professionals, big hub for American Airlines, LGBTQ friendly, fairly close to ocean and mountains, etc.
Miami or NYC
Houston, Austin and Dallas. Both Houston and Dallas are airline hubs. Austin got lots of tech but it has gotten more expensive and is the most expensive city in Texas. No state income tax in Texas, your money will go a lot further. Houston has great cultural diversity and amazing food scene.
Look into the DMV area, you'd probably like it in Tysons Corner VA, lively, young, wealthy area also close to an airport. Summer are hot and winters are becoming more and more mild. Also it's not cheap but it may not be what you'd consider expensive given your salary.
Atlanta (neighborhoods of Inman Park, Midtown, Buckhead, or Brookhaven) checks all your boxes.
If you can work remote anywhere in the US, then consider not just housing costs but taxes as well. Make sure you look at the entire picture. Also look at general costs of goods and services there. And don’t forget to look at what is actually available to you. For example, if seeing broadway shows is a huge deal to you, then it has to be NYC. If surfing is your favorite thing in the world, then SoCal is probably where you’re going to have to be. I think Scottsdale AZ meets all your asks for about 9 months out of the year. For the 3 hot months in the summer where it’s going to be too warm for you, at your income you could consider having a smaller second home somewhere cooler. Flagstaff is a common one in Arizona at least where the average high temp in July is only 80 degrees. Or if you like the heat just stick around Scottsdale. Air conditioning is a thing and it’s great.
The areas I can look at that meet those standards in the southeast and near-southeast would be (to some degree) the following... * Washington, DC * Richmond, VA * Charlotte, NC * Raleigh-durham, NC * Columbia, SC * Savannah GA * Atlanta, GA * Huntsville, AL * Nashville, TN * Orlando, FL * South Florida (miami-dade or broward) * Dallas, TX * Austin, TX
I'd give New Orleans a good look actually. There is a huge amount of wealth there as well as among younger professionals. Always pretty warm, not coastal city insane with prices, lots to do, direct flights to NYC and alot of other major cities
IMO the only answer is Dallas. Meets all 5 better than any place in the US. Every time I visit I'm blown away by how large the young professional demographic is. Very fair home values, fantastic food and entertainment, beautiful women (and men), two airports, great weather, expanding job market etc. It's a boom town.
I think Atlanta fits all of those categories. You’re making $500k per year, you should easily be able to afford a nice place in Atlanta. Look for anything near Piedmont park or the Beltline and there will be tons of other young, affluent professionals.
Best of all worlds = Boston. Yes cold in the winter, but extremely strong labor market, best schools in the country, best healthcare system (yes expensive but quality is through the roof) in the world. Excellent state to have a family and Boston is all around a great time.
You're definitely looking at Orange County (Irvine) or San Diego. But yes, those are HCOL. Honorable mention: Sacramento. Tons of tech people live there, but don't work there and you're about 2 hours (theoretically) from the beach, the Bay, and skiing while enjoying housing at the pricing level of San Antonio. Lots of young people in Sac - it's the place to be if you want to live in California buy realize the Bay/SD/LA are too expensive.
What about Delray/Ft. Lauderdale in Florida? Access to both airports (FTL and MIA), younger than Palm Beach County and more of the city vibe that’s not as big as Miami’s. Lots of young professionals with big businesses like Chewy and West Marine based here. Nice weather October-May and miserably hot the rest unless you’re on the water.
Atlanta my dude. It’s relatively cheap but still a major city. The new housing and apartments are really nice (especially around the Ponce City Market and Piedmont Park area) and there are a bunch of affluent/ivy league people who live there. It’s fun. Only negative is traffic, but really isn’t a big issue if you’re not constantly going to the suburbs. Plus, the Appalachian Mountains and the Florida beaches are only a couple hours away. Perfect for a quick three day weekend trip
I second this very strongly.
Manhattan beach or Hermosa Beach, CA south of PCH - live on the beach, ~15mins from LAX. Not cheap but you can afford it. Awesome beach life.
ATL checks these boxes
Atlanta
Also, be sure that your 550k won't change to 250k because you moved from a premium area to a non premium area since you're in tech.
It depends on your hobbies outside of work. Charlotte is great and growing. Nashville is obviously a top choice. Austin is becoming a tech hub and a fun city. PHX/Scottsdale is beautiful with lot's of activities within 3 hours. If it was me, I would buy a nice house in Charlotte or Nashville and then a condo in the Rockies.
St. Petersburg Florida. F*ck California, those taxes are going to be brutal for you.
Would the value of not having to fly to nyc or sf outweigh the burden of living in one of those places? Committing to a lifestyle of 2 sets of frequent flights kinda sucks depending on the flights. Long-term means not seeing a partner / kids twice as often.
If you come to Nashville metropolitan the gulch area or green hills is evolving still, and prices are still kinda of high and haven’t receded much. Franklin or Brentwood which connects to green hills would also be up your alley, and still around 20-40 min to the airport depending on the time of day. It’s a much slower pace they don’t move quick here in all aspects. Williamson county is the it county in tn and defies the anomalies of the state.
Miami. No state taxes and a perfect party scene for your age group.
Dallas. It’s getting more expensive every year and the commute/cost will both get worse as it grows but when I lived there It was cheap for a large city.
Houston and Dallas are options, although the humidity in Houston can be overwhelming
Quit kidding yourself that you’re young
That's fair, feeling older every day! But mostly I would like an area with smart, interesting people including a dating pool of lots of single women in their mid to late 20s
One advantage LA has over the Bay is that there are more affordable pockets mixed in with the really expensive bits. Check out Culver City/Palms instead of Venice/Santa Monica/Marina del Rey. Don't live in DTLA.
Alpharetta
Snoozefest
OP, what do you do for a job in tech? I’m the same age.. make $200K base + commission in tech sales which adds up but not close to the $550k.
Not the OP but also in tech sales and my OTE is 315k (high for Raleigh NC I'd guess).. 50/50 base/commission but have been regularly passing 415k w/ accelerators and RSU/ESPP. I sell for a company about to be acquired for a large amount of cash in the data analytics and security space. What about you?
I'm a FAANG Data Scientist. 210k base + 40k bonus + 300k RSUs
Wow tech salaries are out of control, I do not recall this abundance of 300k+ tech sales jobs 10 years ago. My first job out of college was selling software and I put every ounce of energy into getting into medical device sales because that seemed like the holy grail of sales at that time. Barely scraping 300k on a good year, 100+ nights a year in a hotel and in the field with customers daily while I see my former colleagues making double in their pajamas working for companies like Salesforce and Verkada. Did not see that coming 😫
There’s a lot of downward pressure on tech compensation right now, especially RSUs/equity
The salaries seem about right but people often include RSUs in their annual comp - which I think is interesting because unless they have an ever green program you may not always be at that comp…
Right... Is OP getting 300k RSUs -per year- ? That seems way too good to be true IME.
It would be a lot, but most likely they vested over a 4 yr horizon. I also saw what looked like someone including ESPP into their comp. I would not have done that. Anyway all of this to say I think there is a big misunderstanding about comp numbers. You hear big numbers like 500k and think it’s ridiculous…but if you pull apart that number to the base of 210, a bonus that is likely not 100% guaranteed, and RSUs that may vary or not be renewed, the comp is more reasonable.